Chapter 494: Security Issues of Overseas Assets
In the conference room of the Lord’s Mansion in Huxin Town, senior officials from the Government Affairs Council and the army gathered here.
The atmosphere in the conference room was quite dull, everyone was thinking about the war in Corner Bay.
Old Ford closed his eyes and tapped the tabletop with his right hand. Cecil and Hansel stared at the teacup in front of them in a daze.
Schroeder clicked his pipe and stared thoughtfully at the rising smoke rings one after another. Bryce's brows were knitted together, and he wanted to say something but couldn't open his mouth.
Ladi looked worried, probably worried about the future of her hometown.
Paul glanced at his left side, and then at his right side,
“Everyone, it’s not okay to just sit like this. Does anyone have any good strategies to avoid risks? ”
Undoubtedly, the outbreak of war will pose a threat to the commerce and trade in the Northwest Gulf.
Countermeasures? Hearing Paul's words, Hansel was a little speechless.
In fact, because of the important position of Cape Bay as a transit point for East-West trade, the Ministry of Intelligence has always paid close attention to it.
Every official in Huxin Town is very aware of the tense situation in Jiaowan. The number of weapons purchased from the Jiaowan Alliance alone can give a glimpse of it.
Whether the river water is cold or warm, the ducks swimming in it every day must be the first to know.
As early as half a year ago, merchants from the Northwest Bay who had important business dealings in Jiaowan jointly submitted a letter to the Lord's Mansion, requesting the Lord to buy or lease a small area of place in Jiaowan. Once the war breaks out, they can As a settlement for merchants from the northwest bay, it continues to function as a supply point on the route to the East.
But the Earl at that time refused because it would cost too much.
Three months ago, the Government Affairs Council once again discussed the joint letter from businessmen. Everyone agreed that now is not the time to worry about money. The chemical plant should be stopped first. Don’t repair the reservoir or school. Instead, buy a piece of land in Jiaowan. Well, it would be better to be an island.
Count Greyman was very unhappy and said that no one would be able to embezzle funds from several established projects.
Now, the fight is finally going to start over at Jiaowan, and the earl has begun to seek everyone's opinions.
But no one talks about buying land.
“Ahem!”
Ford felt that Paul would be embarrassed if everyone continued to be silent, so he broke the silence and said:
“Our business activities are mainly concentrated along the coast, and the power of the Corner Bay Church has not been able to reach the coast so quickly. , so there is still a buffering time, but now there is one thing. Money and people can be easily removed, but some real estate there-including private enterprises and the State Council-will be difficult to take away when the war breaks out. In the end, it is inevitable that some criminals will take advantage of the chaotic situation to fish in troubled waters, so..."
He raised his brows slightly, as if he glanced at Chief of Staff Schroeder inadvertently.
"We'd better have an armed force in Jiaowan that can deter those with evil intentions."
"Huh?" Hearing the mention of the armed force, the director of the Government Affairs Council was vomiting. Misty Schroeder was startled.
To be honest, Schroeder thought that as the chief of staff, he came here today just to observe, because the Horn Bay, thousands of miles away, could have some connection with the Alda army, which currently only dominates the northwest bay. What about the relationship?
The only military force Arda can project to the Horn Bay now is the navy, but those landlocked countries don’t even have a sampan. What are the warships going to do? Just stare?
"This is indeed a problem, Schroeder!"
Paul looked at him, "Can we send an army to Cape Bay? Like...a battalion?"
"Ahem! Master Graiman." Schroeder put his beloved pipe on the table, then stood up and said.
"Sorry, our troops do not yet have such capabilities."
He first poured cold water on Paul, and then began to list the reasons one by one.
"First of all, although it is easy to send one or two battalions of personnel there, our army relies heavily on our unique equipment such as gunpowder, firearms, and cannons, and these things can currently only be produced in the Northwest Gulf , they are consumables, and supplying them to Jiao Bay, which is thousands of miles away, is very problematic."
"Secondly, assuming that our army has enough transportation capacity to transport these things to Jiao Bay in time, but. We still lack a... I should say a series of stable bases in Cape Bay to store, transship, and distribute our supplies. ”
"Finally, we are not familiar with the climate and environment there. Our soldiers are all from the Northwest Bay. Most of them have never left their hometowns so far. If we go to the hot and humid Cape Bay all of a sudden, it is very likely that there will be water and soil problems. The problem of dissatisfaction. "
"Everyone!"
Schroeder emphasized his tone, looked around at everyone and said solemnly: "Don't underestimate this last reason. It may be that you are not acclimatized. It will kill people, and terrible infections may occur. Some diseases may have very mild symptoms for locals, but they are life-threatening scythes for outsiders. This is something more terrifying than a tangible enemy."
There was a look of memory in his eyes.
“Thirty years ago, I just went to serve in the Watcher Corps. The Nerodan Corridor and the Northwest Bay where the Watcher Corps was stationed were both in the north of the kingdom. However, when I first arrived there, I had to pull a gun for a whole week. Belly, I was still a strong young man at that time.”
"To sum up..."
Schroeder looked at Paul and concluded: "I firmly oppose sending troops to Horn Bay now. This is letting the soldiers die."
"But... …" He changed the subject, "If the lord is interested, we can start making preparations now. We can send intelligence personnel there to survey the terrain, collect information on various vegetation and animals, and send doctors to learn about disease information and various herbal medicines there. , and..."
"Send envoys to negotiate with the rulers there to see if they can get a piece of land as a place to stay."
"If we do these things now, then. I estimate that in half a year we will initially have the ability to project power to Jiaowan.”
Paul didn't speak, and the conference room fell into silence.
"Uh..."
At this time, Hansel stood up weakly and said carefully: "Lord Grayman, if an Aldo army appears in a In a war in which the kingdom is not involved, His Majesty the King will feel embarrassed."
"Okay!"
Paul had a troubled expression on his face.
"What you said makes sense. We can't let these guys die, and we can't embarrass His Majesty the King."
"Lord Graiman!"
Schroeder spoke again .
As the chief of staff and the most important person who advises Paul on the military front, he still actively uses his brains to come up with solutions as much as possible.
“If it’s just to deter lawbreakers, why don’t you try mercenaries?”
(End of this chapter)